Traffic and other marker



Jan. 9, 1945.. J. D. FRENCH TRAFFIC AND OTHER MARKER Filed 001;. 24,1939 4 Sheets-Sheet l wzwmzwl 5 i'timw" JAs lg i gz E N c H 31b; 6m

ATTORNEYS.

Jan. 9, 1945. J. D. FRENCH TRAFFIC AND OTHER MARKER Filed Oct. 24 1939 4Sheets-Sheet '2 J'As. D. FRENCH I mvgu efidlufic ank.

ATTORNEYS.

J. D. FRENCH v2,366,715

TRAFFIC AND OTHER MARKER Filed Oct. 24, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 BY d utuATTORNEY5. v

Jan. 9, 1945.

J. D. FRENCH TRAFFIC AND OTHER MARKER 4' Sheets- Sheet 4 Filed 000. 24,1939 Ms. D. FRENCH INVEwRE ATTORNEYGQ Patented Jan. 9, 1945 UNITED"STATES PATENT OFFICE v f m" cafifml mm James D. French, Austin, Tex.Application October 24, 1939, 861181 N6. 801,000 (c1. 94 -1.5)

3 Claims. The invention relates to a meansand method of providing trafncand other markers to define hazards and promote safety. The presentinvention is in the nature of a continuation in part of my priorco-pending application, Serial No. 136,517, filed April 13, 1937, for aHighway stripe which has matured into Patent 2,184,492, issued Dec. 26,1939, and is directed generally to the provision of permanent markerswhich may be applied while the base is plastic or semiplastic or may beapplied to existing bases.

It is one of the objects of the invention to provide traiilc safetymarkers which may be applied directly to the highway to define thetrafilc lanes,

to curbstones to indicate locations, as well as to various types ofwarning signs, bridge ends and approaches, culverts and other types ofhazardous objects so as to make all of such markers available on objectssothat they will be readily visible during the day and at night as well.

It is one of the objects of the invention to provide a permanent meansand method for applying a trafllc line to define the trailic lanesupon ahighway either while the material of the highway is in plastic orsemi-plastic condition or upon an existing highway by proper treatmentof a portion of the surface thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination of apermanent trafilc marker for trafllc hazards wherein an object to bemarked is made up of a cementitious base or has such a It is also anobject of the invention to provide an apparatus for furnishing anon-skid surface upon concrete highways.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a method of applyingmarkers to highway hazards or locations wherein a cementitious base isapplied or existentupon the object, the outline of the warning appliedto this base before it takes its initial set and thereafter applyingreflector material to such warning outline so 'that the entire assemblyacquires a permanent set.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for practicingthe invention so that the markers may be suitably applied.

Other and further objects of the invention will be readily apparent whenthe followingdescription is considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the invention being practicedwhile applyinga tramc line and illustrates the apparatus used therein.

Fig. 1A is an end view showing a diagrammatic arrangement.

Fig. 1B is a broken detail view of the brush for applying a non-skidsurface.

Fig. 2 is an end view of another type of brush whichmay be utilized inproviding a non-skid base applied to it, and a plurality of reflectormembers such as beads, spheres or chips of a,

suitable reflecting material will be permanently embedded in thecementitious baseso as to reflect the-rays from the vehicles and warnthe operators of the hazard. t

Another objectis to apply a cementitious base materialunder pressure soas tosuitably receive either or both a coloring forsigns or/andrefiect-' in: particlest Another object of the invention is toprovide amethod ofapplying a permanent traffic marker which includes troweling amarking material into a plastic or semi-plastic surface, treating thesurface so provided with reflector members and covering the surface toprevent premature curing thereof.

surface.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view thru a portion of the road. to which the lineis being applied and illustratesthe guides or stencil to define the areato be marked. g i

Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 3 illustrating the coloringmaterialas having been appliedto or incorporated in the plastic surfaceof the road.

Fig. 5 shows the completed stripe ofFig. 4 with thereflector materialapplied thereto.

Figs. 6, 7 and Bare top plan views illustrating the steps in theprocedure as seen in Figs. 3,4 and 5 respectively v Fig. 9 is anenlarged sectional view illustrating a reflector sphere as having beenembedded in the surface. p i

Fig. 10 is similar to Fig. 9 butshows a sphere which of itself carriesreflecting members.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a bridge illustrating the stripeashaving been applied to the highway and various portions of the bridgeas Fig. 12 shows a traflic sign to which the invention is being applied.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged view of an offset in the highway which has beenmarked with the invention.

Fig. 14 shows a trafiic intersection wherein the invention has beenapplied to the curbstone.

Fig. 15 is a detailed view of the marking in Fig. 14 and illustratingthe details of the application thereof.

Fig. 16 is a broken detail view showing a form of stencil which may beused.

Fig. 17 is a top plan view showing a diagrammatic arrangement of thetank for the materials to be used. i

Q Fig. 18 shows a detail of a nozzle for applying the materials underpressures.

Fig. 19 shows a smaller frame than in Fig. 1 which may be used inapplying the stripe to an existing highway.

The invention will first be described as applied to plastic orsemi-plastic'surfaces such-as road or Fig. 1 to assist in introducingthe coloring matter. The coloring matter may be applied by merelyscattering it in powdered form upon the surface 25 and working it inwith the trowel 23 or it may be applied thru a nozzle 31 by means offluid under pressure as may be furnished by a compressor 33. In eitherevent there is a bonding of the colored concrete with the body so that apermanent integral slab is provided. Suitable tanks 34,; and 36 areprovided'for other materials which may be applied thru the nozzle, 31,if desired. Thus the tank 33 may contain a black cement slurry made offine sand cement, magnetic iron oxide and water while the tanks 34 and35 may contain other colors or the reflecting particles such as glassspheres, beads or different colored stone chips as desired. Thesematerials may be applied under pressure as will be hereinafterdescribed.

A plan view showing a diagrammatic arrangement of these tanks along withthe piping 40 which serves to conduct the materials is best seen thetrackway 5 at each side of the roadway.

The arrangement of these parts is seen in end elevation in Fig. 1A. Theapparatus 2 may include a roof or canopy l0 which is suitably supportedon the frame 3 to protect the workers and the stripe being createdagainst sun and rain. In this manner excessive evaporation and prematuresetting may be avoided.

The frame 3 is made up of a plurality of rods and may carry an extensionformed of the rods l2 beyond the end rod l3. This extension carriesshafts l4 at the opposite ends which in turn carry the rotatable wheelsIS. The endless brush I6 is mounted to travel around these two wheels Non opposite ends of the frame and the bristles or tines ll of the brushiii are arranged to wipe crossways of the roadway I so as to form anonskid surface. Power means it! is arranged to permit driving of thewheels l5 so as to carry the In order to define the area 25 which is tobe converted into the marking stripe, a plurality of guides or stencilbars 22 are adjustably carried by the frame} as best seen in Figs. 1 and1A. These bars have the downwardly extending legs 24 thereof spacedapart equal to the width of the stripe which is to be formed and in thismanner the width of the area 25 which is to be striped is separated fromthe rest of the surface. As seen in Fig. 3 the lower edge 26 of thesebars is'impressed slightly into the surface 21 of the base I which willbe remembered as in plastic form.

As pointed out in my prior co-pending application I have found thatmagnetic iron oxide is a suitable coloring material, first because ithas a greater specific gravity than the concrete material and willsettle by gravity into the plastic conin Fig. 1'7, while Fig. 18 shows aform of the nozzle 31 as having a. discharge nipple 38 thereon which maybe of a construction whereby matenozzle.

A low pressure pipe 41 extends from the compressor to each tank and thepiping 40 is connected to the nozzle 31. High pressure is also connectedto the nozzle so as to get the slurry onto the surface and it has beenfound that a pressure of about 1750 pounds per square inch in the nozzleis suitable.

Figs. 3 and 6 show the arrangement of the guide bars and the area 25which has been roughened so as to next receive the coloring slurry orthe dry coloring while Figs. 4 and 7 showthe area as having been markedby applying the slurry or working the coloring matter 23 into thesurface.

The completed strip is illustrated at I! in Fig. 4

and is clearly discernible from the rest of the surface '21. In Figs. 5and 8 the surface 46 has had a reflecting material 43 applied thereto sothat the light rays from a vehicle will be reflected in all directionsand the stripe readily discern- 1 ible at night. Figs. 6, 7 and 8 showthe progress of the construction of Figs. 3, 4 and 5 respectively.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of the arrangement wherein theplastic base I has had the coloring material 23 applied to it to formthe stripe l5, and it will be observed that this coloring matter hasbeen mixed into the surface 21 fora substantial distance if it wereapplied dry and has formed a coating if it were applied as a slurryunder pressure. One of the particles of reflecting material 48 is shownas having been applied under pressure to the surface. While a sphericalbody has been illustrated, it is to be understood that these reflectingbeads may be of any suitable shape or configuration. the presentillustration being a glass sphere which has had a substantial portion ofits diameter embedded into plastic conconcrete or base. The line Illillustrates the ray.

oi light from the headlamp of a vehicle and illustrates how the lightwill he received by the reflecting member 48 and the reflection beam llturned back by the reflecting body. This beam II will be readilyobserved by the driver or the vehicle so as to warn him that there is atrafllc lane, or trans hazard represented by this reflected light.

The rigid structure such as the post 82 will first be suitably cleanedand roughened with a sand blast or other cleaning method to removetra'flic grime, dust particles and resins which might afiect the bondwith the cementitious material and the rigid structure.

In Fig. 11 the base has been roughened at 82'. A suitable cementitiousslurry 83 can be now applied with the pressure apparatus 33 and thenozzle 31. It has been found that a nozzle pressure of about 1750 poundsper square inch work results in a dense coating or base which sets upfirmly and forms a permanent bond with the base structure. When thusapplied under high pressure this base will have a greater density thanthe material to which it adheres and thus forms either a suitablebackground upon which to assemble the balance or the sign or thereflecting particles 85 may b applied directly thereto.

i with the nozzle held about four inches from the If the sign or warningis'to have distinguishing characters, letters, numerals or indicia ofsome sort thereon a slurry of a different coloring material will bequickly applied to this base material. Reflecting particles 66 are nextapplied by the pressure apparatus of Fig. 1 or otherwise applied as seenin Figs. 9 and 10.

Fig. 10 shows a view somewhat similar to Fig.

9 but wherein the sphere or reflector 48 is of special construction inity of reflecting pieces, 52. These pieces will individually reflecttheiisht rays as illustrated by the lines 53 so as to increase thevisibility of the traflic hazard and to create. a greater fac- 4 tor ofsafety.

In Fig. 1 a bracket 55 is carried by the frame 3 and supports a roll 56of paper or other suitable material which may be laid out over thefinished stripe as the machine progresses. This paper rotects thestripe, prevents premature curing and may be readily removed.

markers may be variously colored and the i'ollowing list-of colors maybe obtained by using the appropriate pigments:

Color Pigment Black mm m etic iron oxide.

' 'litaniuin i l ioxide. Whites Antimony oxide.

White cement. Para toners and lakes light to deep.

Toluidinc toners and is es. Reds Pure chlornitranilinc red.

or lakes. Alphannphth lamina toner. Br ht orange Orthonitranil c orangetoner.

u 1 orange Orange-ferrite (iron hydroxide). Bright llows... Hausa yellowtoner, 100, 5G and G comz'eta.

ull y ow 1llemh glnsfllrloln hydrfiride).

' o um or c. g c romium (g ide. ue tramarinc no. Dull red Spanish andPersian Gulf iron oxides. Brown Brown iron oxides.

Fig. 12 shows a stop sign wherein the bonding material 63 has beenapplied as a background and may be black or-any desired color upon whichthe distinguishing coloring matter 84 in the form of letters may beplaced. Suitable stencils or forms are applied to the background inorder to define the area 64 which is to be colored and in Fig..12 theword Stop has been outlined and the distinguishing coloring material 64applied to this area to define the letters. Thus if the base 63 wereblack the letters 54 might be white; and lastly the reflecting particles65 have been applied to the colored areas while they in turn wereplastic. The slurry 1 used in vertical positions may be thicker and thatit carries a plural 4 when very quickly applied under pressure sets in avery few minutes so that a sign can be finished at once.

Fig. 14 shows a curbstone 70 to which the invention has been applied inorder to designate the particular streets. The manner of application tothe curbstone is best seen in Fig. 15 where the surface has beensuitably cleaned at H.

Over this surface a cloth. or protective shield 12 is arranged and thisshield may be held in place by a frame 13. The cementitious base orback- In a great many instances the marker may b applied to existingstructures such as roads, bridges, curbings, posts, conduits and othertrafiic hazards and may also be applied to signs so as to provideinformation which can be observed by the drivers during the day or atnight.

When the invention is to be applied to a rigid structure such as anexisting base of con- :rete, steel, asphalt or wood background, such isa sign or curbing or conduit, as well as to is still plastic. The clothI! aridge ends and intermediate posts or tramc .ine stripes, it isnecessary to apply a suitable :ementitious base which will adhere to therigid structure in order to assemble the sign. One :uch illustration isseen in the perspective view if a bridge in'Fig. 11. In this arrangementthere We oflsets Gil in the face or the bridge so as 0 provide ashoulder such as 6| as seen in "lg. 13.

The same procedure will be followed with the flsets or any otherstructure to which the mark is to b applied where the structure has ieenpreviously in existence, regardless of whether it is a roadway, bridgeend, post, curve -used to app y the colored slurry ground material 63 isnext applied and then the distinguishing coloring matter 64 is placedupon this base or bond. Fig. 16 shows the stencils N as having beenslipped into the frame 13, each stencil defining the letter or numeralwhich is to be applied. It is thru the opening ii in these stencils thatthe coloring matter is applied and worked into the base. The reflectingparticles 65 are next added while the colored matter 84 serves toprotect curbstone against inadvertent coloring and also assists theoperator to salvage glass beads or other particles which did not adhereto the coloring matter 64. I h

Fig. 19 shows the frame 3 of Fig. 1 as having been modified to adapt itto the working of existing roads of either concrete or asphaltic orbituminous material. The member 30 will be used to roughen the surfaceand the nozzle 31 under pressure. The frame is narrow and equipment asseen in brush. 1

Broadly the invention contemplates a means and method or applying apermanent marking or designation to existing or newly created structureswherein the information may be visible in theday time due to thecoloring thereor and via- Fig. 1 except the cross may carry the sameible at night time due to the reflection or light beams.

What is claimed is:

l. A method of providing colored reflecting traflic markers and signs inconcrete while the surface is plastic or semi-plastic which comprisesadding coloring material to the green concrete surface, working thecoloring material into the surface of the concrete to obtain a minimumpenetration or one-eighth inch, and working small diameter transparentglass beads into the transparent glass reflecting particles embedded inthe surface of the concrete colored base so that the concrete,fcoloringpigment and glass beads form a monolithic structure.

surface of the colored green concrete so that the concrete, coloring andbeads solidify as a monolithic mass.

2. A traific marker or sign of the reflecting type comprising a concretebase material, an area thereon of the same material having a coloringpigment mixed intimately therein and. small 3. The art of forming adistinguishing marker suchas a stripe on the surface of a concretehighway including the treating 01' ,a portion of the green concretesurface while the highway is plastic by adding a coloring material tosuch portion, workingthe coloring material into the concrete to obtain apenetration thereof, and there after and while the concrete is stillplastic embedding small transparent glass beads in such highway surface,and allowing the concrete, coloring material-and beads to solidify as amonolithic mass.

JAMES D. FRENCH.

